


Agents of SHIELD: A Mother's Love

by kamenrangerxvi01



Series: Earth-199999-Alpha Omnibus [24]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adoption, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Gen, Meet the Family, New Baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:34:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23658445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamenrangerxvi01/pseuds/kamenrangerxvi01
Summary: Shield Agent Daisy Johnson's life has taken an upturn over the past few years. She now has a loving husband, a "twin sister", a "parent" thanks to May agreeing to adopting her and now, a sweet and adorable baby daughter.But, as with every family, baggage is almost always ready to come knocking...
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Earth-199999-Alpha Omnibus [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1191670
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To new readers: Hello, this story is part of my "Earth-199999-Alpha" divergent canon. For context of this world, check out "Avengers: Fallout" and for where Scott, "Skye" and other mentioned characters comes from, check out the main storyline of my canon "Operation Exlies"
> 
> For returning readers:  
> So, I have been dealing with a family member with some serious medical problems. It's not Corona related, thank God, but he does require near constant care, so I have had almost no time to write recently. But I wanted to put something up for this speical day. When I say I plan things out to the last detail, I mean it. And with that in mind, two years ago, I selected April 14th 2020 as the day Toni Johnson-Riley was born, and I wanted to have something out exactly on that day. 
> 
> (I kinda wrote myself into a corner, as I inserted a mention of Corona into a later story, and forgot about this one. Mini spoilers, Stark, despite being a jerk to his former freinds, still cares about the public at large, and was able use his company's resources to create a vaccine in very late March.)

“Are you guys ready yet?” Daisy asked through the apartment door. She was standing outside in the hall, ready for a little staged photo and video shoot.

“I think so…” Skye replied.

“Hey Jemma, just make sure she’s doing this right… I want this on camera, not her thumb.”

“Can, you know, we hurry this up, please?” Scott asked, from behind her “this stroller weights a ton.”

“Just use your powers.” Daisy retorted to her husband “You think she’s light? This carrier your mom gave me isn’t made of clouds you know.”

“Using my powers also strains me, remember?”

“OK.” Jemma yelled, drawing their attention. Daisy pushed the door open and carried baby Toni into their apartment.

“Here we are, sweetie…” Daisy said, putting the carrier down on the table. “home sweet home, at least for now.”

Their little apartment was crowded with some of their immediate family and friends to welcome Toni home. Most were in gloves and paper hospital gowns, to make sure Toni didn’t get exposed to anything. On top of general fears about the virus, Toni’s body was a unique mix of Inhuman and Siltavion DNA. Dr. Millworth, Daisy’s Obstetrician, had explained to the couple that Toni’s shots would have to be specially crafted for her, along with any potential future siblings. It was not a hard job, but it would take a little time, so Daisy was not taking any chances.

Scott had not been able to take advantage of Stark Industry’s vaccine for much the same reason, but he and his father didn’t need to, they were too alien for the virus to deal with. Toni, on the other hand, was not alien enough to avoid possible infection, but not human enough for the shot to work 100%. This meant she had to be protected.

“I think we know who should hold her first.” Daisy said, looking towards Scott’s grandfather, Kent Sr.

The old man welled up in tears as she handed him his new great-granddaughter.

“My god… I never thought…” He began to say, looking at her.

The other members of the family took turns holding Toni, with Daisy feeling like she had to fight with her mother-in-law Gwen to get her to let someone else have a turn.

Eventually, while Iris and Barry were ogling her, Toni woke up and began to make noise.

“I think she’s hungry.” Gwen said “Scott, potel, chop chop.”

“Mom….” He began to huff, not liking being told what to do in his own home but changed his tune when she gave him “the look”, both for not listening and not addressing her as “Mum.”

“Have you tried breastfeeding her?” Jas asked.

“Well, uh, no…” Daisy admitted.

“The books I read said it not only gives the best nutrition for the baby,” Jas explained while Skye mouthed “those goddamn books again…”

“It also helps the two of you bond.” Jas finished, while shooting her wife a look. “I wasn’t producing enough to feed the twins, but…”

“Honey… we talked about this…” Skye said, elbowing Jas.

“Sorry… Sorry…” Jas said “I think you’d be fine.”

“Ok… I guess. I take her into the bedroom, get a little privacy.”

Daisy carried Toni in, to the confusion of Scott who returned with the bottle only to find the door closed in his face.

“Just hold her up to you, it should come naturally to the both of you.” Jas said through the door before sending Scott on his way.

Back out in the main room, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it.” Scott said, still holding the bottle.

He opened the door to find a short, elderly Asian woman standing outside. Or more specifically, by the time he had the door open enough to see her face, she’d shoved her way inside.

“Where is she!” Mrs. Lian May yelled out loud, pushing past him.

“Hello to you two…” Scott said as the old lady surveyed the room.

“Mom?” May asked, confused “what are you doing here?”

“I heard the news, I had to just see her…” She said.

“Daisy and the baby are inside…” May began to say.

“Can I get you some…” Scott began to say, but she was running into the bedroom before Scott could finish, causing Scott and May to chase after her.

“Wow… this feels… wow this tickles…”

Daisy was just getting the hang of feeding Toni as the door flew open.

“Gahh!” Daisy yelped, quickly pulling a blanket up over her and Toni.

“What the serious fuck?” Daisy asked, angrily. “YA MIND?”

“Mom… Stop.” May said, reaching around and standing between the two. Daisy passed Toni to May so she could get dressed, but Mrs. May pulled the baby out of her daughters’ arms, causing Toni to start to cry.

She held up Toni and started talking to her in Chinese, before suddenly gasping. She’d gotten a look at the purple rings of Toni’s irises.

“What’s wrong with her eyes? Something is wrong with her eyes!” Mrs. May shreaked before turning to her daughter “We need to get her to a doctor! Then we need to get her home, this place isn’t safe… the virus…”

Her panicked yell caused Toni to cry even louder.

“Nothing is wrong with her eyes, that’s just their color.” Daisy said as she pulled her shirt back over her head.

“Nothing is wrong? Have you ever seen anyone with purple eyes before?”

“YES!” Both Daisy and May said, with both pointing over to Scott, now standing next to the older woman, ready to drag her away from his wife and child if need be.

“Hi there, maybe now you’ll pay attention to me…” Scott said, staring right at her so she’d see his eyes.

“Whose he again?” Mrs. May asked deadpan.

“Um, he’s Scott…?” Daisy said, pulling her shirt down “…My _husband_? Toni’s _father_?”

“I though he wasn’t in the picture, that’s why you didn’t want her…”

“Excuse me?” Daisy asked as she jumped to her feet with her “calm, but I’m going to kill you” voice.

“Mom? What the hell are you talking about?” May said, stepping in front of Daisy before she had a chance to pounce.

“Sorry…” The older woman said, “It’s just, I’m so excited to finally meet my new granddaughter.”

“Hi, we’ve met…” Daisy said, deadpan and leaning around May. “Now, could you please hand my baby back to me or could you at least give her to her dad, I don’t want your germs all over her…”

“What? You?”

“Yeah, me. Hi, _I’m_ you new granddaughter, hello there. Now if you’d be so kind… GIMME BACK MY KID!”

Daisy reached around and pulled Toni away from Mrs. May.

“It’s okay sweetheart, Mommy’s got you.” She said, holding her child tight and walking back out into the living room, with Mrs. May following.

“Melinda, what’s the meaning of this?” She asked loudly. “You told me you decided to adopt a child and now I find out you lied to me after I came all this way?”

“What the…? I didn’t adopt the baby, mom,” May said with the same confused look on her face as the others “I adopted Daisy and her sister, Skye. I’M Toni’s grandmother. Where in God’s name did you get that idea? Were you even actually listening to me?”

“I tried telling you that.” Mr. William May said as he huffed and wheezed his way into the 4th floor apartment. “But you didn’t listen…”

He looked over at Scott “Why couldn’t you kids get a place with an elevator?”

“When I got it, I wasn’t expecting to be a parent any time soon?”

“Dad?” May asked, surprised “I wasn’t expecting you for a few days.”

“When I told my neighbors the news, they got me set up with an early flight. Ran into your mother at the airport and figured we’d share a cab here. She got so excited she hopped out almost a block away and ran.”

“Why didn’t you tell me in the car about who Melinda was adopting, I thought it was the baby.” His ex-wife said in a huff.

“I tried, but you wouldn’t let me get a word in edge wise… Boy, did that take me back…”

He held up a bag and handed it to Scott.

“A little something for her. I wasn’t sure and just grabbed what I could.”

Inside the bag was a stuffed animal.

“Huh, Rainbow Dash… I’m sure she’ll love it.” Scott said, trying to be polite, before leading Mr. May to sit down next to Kent Sr and given gloves.

“Mrs. May, I know you mean well, but Toni is only a few days old and you yelling isn’t doing her any good.” Scott said, looking over at Toni, who’d calmed down now that she was safe in Daisy’s arms again.

At this point, Little Scotty wandered over from where he’d been playing with his sister.

“Aunt Daisy? Can I see the baby again?”

“Sure sweetie.” Daisy said as she headed toward the couch.

Scotty looked up.

“Hi Grandma!” He said at May, who walked over and patted the boy on the head.

“Hey little man. You being a good boy?”

Scotty nodded and then went towards the couch to sit with Daisy and see his new cousin up close, as Sprout ran over as well.

“How? What?” Mrs. May said, looking bewildered.

“Skye and her wife already have kids. We didn’t think it was fair, so I’ve gone from nothing to mother of twins and grandmother of three.”

Mrs. May headed for the door, with her daughter chasing after her.

“Mom… What’s the matter?” She said as she caught her mom at the top of the stairs.

Mrs. May let out a sigh “I’m sorry. I was so excited to have a sweet little grandchild to show off. All the other ladies in the neighborhood love flipping through pictures of their grandkids… I might have not been listing clearly.”

“Mom…”

“Why did you even agree to this?” Mrs. May asked her head shaking slightly with a cock to one side.

“Mom, I think you know as well as I do what this life entails.” May said, folding her arms across her chest “Daisy grew up in the foster care system. She spent most of her life legally an orphan. She wants to ensure someone will always be there for her daughter. We’re not just co-workers, or friends. Those people in there are a family. And we all want to make sure Toni is taken care of.”

Mrs. May started to turn back to the stairs.

“And guess what, that means you two.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I mean, you are her great-grandmother.”

Mrs. May’s head popped up in realization.

“I am? I am…” She said. “Yeah, I am.”

Mrs. May turned around and ran back inside, and began inspecting the apartment, making a bee-line for the refrigerator.

“This milk is a day away from expiring!” She yelled at Scott “Get a new one!”

“We give her formula.” Scott countered

“You listen to your elders young man…” She scolded him as Scott looked over at May with a “What did you do?” look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

“Thank freaking God!” Daisy muttered as Mrs. May finally left, Daisy watching May lead her mother downstairs. Daisy turned and slowly slumped down onto the floor, leaning against the door.

“I can’t take that woman.” She said to Scott, who was changing Toni.

Mrs. May had spent the entire afternoon and evening critiquing every detail of their apartment, ignoring the constant reminders the arraignment was only temporary and the pair planed to buy a house. She complained about everything from the color of the curtains to the thickness of the carpets to Scott’s comic book collection.

“Thankfully she doesn’t live nearby.” He said as he applied baby powder before letting off a loud sneeze

“With our luck she’ll try to move in when we find a bigger place.”

“You know we could tell her no.”

Daisy just looked at him.

“Yeah… You’re right, that wouldn’t end well.” He said. “Come on, let’s relax a little, just the three of us. The daddy, the mommy and the baby…”

She climbed back onto her feet and walked over to the couch to meet them.

“Part of me wishes we could just… go off and start fresh.” She said as he passed Toni to her. “I know we can’t… It’s just…”

She let out a sigh, before looking her baby in the eyes. Unlike her father, whose irises were completely purple, Toni’s were brown with a narrow purple ring about halfway across. Scott’s alien grandmother, Lilliantin, had explained it was a weird end result of the work she’d done to combine her DNA with Kent Sr to produce Scott’s father, much as Scott’s reaction to electrical current was, which she was busy working on fixing.

“Isik for your thoughts?” Scott said.

Daisy shot him a look.

“Knock it off with the alien gibberish, please.”

“It’s from _Star Trek_ …”

“Whatever.” She said before sighing “it’s just… I spent my whole life while growing up trying to find my past, I never actually gave much thought to my future. I mean if you told me, like, five years ago that I’d be a mother one day, I honestly would have laughed in your face. Being on leave so long… it’s made me think a lot about my… our future.

“I don’t want to give up what I have, but I don’t want to be a distant parent at the same time… I’m thinking about asking for a desk job.”

“YOU, a paper pusher like Mum?” Scott said, looking at her cockeyed.

“CS was always my first passion in life.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. I’m not letting you do that. Mom and Dad…”

“Could you stick to one pronunciation or the other because that is also really annoying.”

“…gave up their dreams. Mom because of me, dad to spite Grandpa. I’m not letting you do that.”

“I don’t have a dream.” She said “Not anymore.”

“Now that is a pile of bullshit if I ever heard.

“No, I…”

“Daisy…” Scott began, running his hand up and down her back “I know you miss him. I know how much it would have meant to you for him to be here right now.”

“Please don’t bring Coulson into this.”

“I know it bothers you, but that’s the problem. There is a difference between missing him and letting that control everything.”

“Scott… you don’t understand…”

“all cards on the table.” He said, repeating the mantra of their relationship.

She took a deep breath.

“He gave up his one chance to survive to save me… to save everyone. I… I feel like I owe him something that I can never pay back.”

“You can pay him back.” Scott said “By moving forward. By living. When I suggested we make ‘Promise’ our song, it wasn’t just because I saw it representing where we are in our lives, it represented where we we’re going. Live to keep the promise, not just to me, but to him…”

Daisy thought for a second, then turned to him and said,

“You’ve been listing to your mom’s self-help tapes again, haven’t you?”

“…Guilty as charged…” he said, sinking slightly into the couch. “It’s just, over the last two years, I’ve seen you change, and grow, but I can’t help but feel like this is holding you back.”

“Me missing Coulson isn’t holding me back.”

“No, it’s the fact all you think about in the back of your mind is how you failed him, even though it was his choice. You need to stop beating yourself up over it.”

“I… I… This feels like a one-person intervention.”

“Is it working?”

“Maybe.” She said nodding slightly. “I think it’s getting late, what say we put out little miracle to bed and then… maybe, have a little fun?”

“And run the risk of that lunatic walking in on us?”

Daisy just made a squeaking noise at the realization.

“Let’s just go to bed.”

Daisy placed Toni in her crib and jumped into bed next to Scott.

“Well, here’s to night one of the next eighteen years…” She said with a laugh as she gave him a kiss and cuddled up to him. They switched off the lights and closed their eyes.

As if on cue, Toni began to cry. The two scrambled out of bed, turned the lights back on.

“What do we do?” Daisy asked

“See why she’ crying…?” Scott said

“Gee, thanks’ Dr. Lipschitz” She said as the two moved over to stand over their child.

“I changed her before, and she shouldn’t be hungry.” Scott said

“Maybe she just wants us to hold her?” Daisy asked.

“God, I just hope this isn’t like Sprout needing to be driven around the block.” Scott said as Daisy picked Toni up.

Toni calmed down in her mother’s arms.

“Maybe she wants us to keep talking about Coulson.”

“What, like a bedtime story? ‘Once upon a time there was crazy man who threw a sack over mommy’s head”

“No, maybe she just knows how you feel? She was inside you for nine whole months…”

Daisy gave him a look.

“Dropping the subject…” He said.

“Let’s just get her to relax and try to get some sleep.”

After Toni looked like she was calm, Daisy put her back down and climbed back into bed. They had just turned off the lights when Toni started crying again.

“This is going to be a long night…” Daisy muttered as she sat up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Scott references is "Promise" by Kellie Coffey, the song that was played after the end of EPCOT's now defunct fireworks show "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth". Scott and Daisy had taken Skye and Jas to Disney World as their first real vacation in early 2019 and the pair had a slightly tipsy 'first dance' to the song that ended with them falling into a planter. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM8n0oRXWUg  
> (it's meant to follow on to "We Go On", the show's finalie, using a similar melody and lyrics)


	3. Chapter 3

After a mostly sleepless night where their daughter wanted to be held seemingly every five minutes…

“Are you sure having her outside is good for her?” Daisy asked as she watched Scott try to unfold the stroller on the sidewalk as she held Toni tight. “She’s still only a week old and I don’t want her getting sick.”

“So? I was maybe four or five weeks old when my parents first took me to Disney World. This is just down to McCarran Park.”

“You weren’t coming off a virial pandemic…”

“You’re inoculated, I’m immune and we’ve got the cover. So long as no one but the two of us touches her, she’ll be fine. Relax, you’re starting to sound like Jas.”

“Oh God… you’re right.” Daisy said as Scott got the stroller locked and she laid Toni down inside.

Daisy looked down at her and snapped the see-through cover closed. So small. So fragile. Toni moved a little bit and made a small yawn.

“So? Where are we going?” A voice asked behind them that made the pair jump.

“ _We’re_ taking Toni to the park.” Daisy said, turning to look at Mrs. May, who had snuck up behind them.

“It’s 7 in the morning, she should be sleeping. And she shouldn’t be out in this.”

“We could say the same thing about you, quite frankly. On both counts.” Scott asked as they started walking, each with one hand on the stroller’s handles. “We wanted to get outside before it got crowded. Lot of people who couldn’t get out the last few weeks and months…”

“Well I had my shots and I wanted to spend more time with the baby.” She said, keeping up.

“You do know she has a name, right?” he replied. “You didn’t use it at all yesterday.”

“It’s just so…” Mrs. May said “… so… wrong for a girl.”

“Ok…” Daisy said, stopping and turning for a second. “One, it’s not ‘Tony with a y’, it’s ‘Toni with an I’, which is very common for girls these days. Two, it’s short for Antoinette and three, she’s our child, we can name her what we want.”

Daisy turned back around and they continued down the street.

“If it makes you feel better,” Daisy said over her shoulder “her middle name is Melinda. Even before the whole adoption thing came up.”

The group made their way down the avenue to the large green space.

“Chatter on the nets is Stark expects to get a medal for nipping the virus in the bud.” Scott said as they waited at crosswalk.

“Surprised he didn’t charge for it.” Daisy said.

“I don’t think he’s fallen that far down the slope.” Scott replied. “He hasn’t billed anyone for saving them with those tin can troops of his yet.”

“You talk about Tony Stark like you know him.” Mrs. May said

“We’ve… had dealings with him.” Daisy said. “More than one…”

“What?”

“Nevermind.” She said before continuing her conversation with Scott “If anyone deserves a medal, it’s the team Jemma was working with. They’re the ones who cracked it.”

“Of course, but some days I think Stark went to the same class on hogging credit as the governor…”

They reached the park and found an empty spot under a large tree.

“Oh, this is perfect.” Mrs. May began to say “Let’s get her out and…”

As she reached for the snaps on the cover.

“GLOVES!” Daisy yelled.

“Huh?” Mrs. May asked, looking up.

“If you don’t have gloves on, you’re not holding her. I don’t know where those hands of yours have been? You could have been on the subway and… I am really starting to turn into Jas…

“Look, I know you mean well, but Toni doesn’t have her shots…”

“YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE?” Mrs.May yelled.

“NO!” Daisy yelled quickly.

Before she could get around to explaining, her phone began to ring.

“Excuse me.” Daisy said quickly “Scott, you’re up.”

“Whatever it was, It wasn’t me…” He said quickly, looking up. She mouthed “stop that…” before pointing to her eyes. “Explain everything…”

She stepped a few yards away, leaving him to explain his non-Terran heritage while she answered her call.

“Hello Billings…” She said, frustrated the army lieutenant was calling her again. 

“Ah, Agent Johnson. I am confirming your interview is scheduled for tomorrow, 07:30 hours. I’ll be by early to prep you. Would have done it today, but I’m still in Washington. I’ve got a few extra…”

“Billings, I don’t need your life story.”

“Interview. Tomorrow…” She grunted.

“Yeah, about that, I’m really not feeling up to it, I’m gonna have to call it off.”

“You can’t do that…” Billings said.

“Watch me…” Daisy said as she hung up and walked back over to Scott, who was still trying to explain his biology to Mrs. May.

“Yes… I do need SOME, but not all. I can still get things like the cold and flu, but I can’t get things like Chicken Pox or HIV. If I knew why, I’d tell you. There are only three known Human/Siltavi hybrids in existence. Me, my Dad, and Toni and there aren’t a lot of case studies to be done when your sample size is THREE!”

“But why didn’t...” She began to say

“She’ll get them… when they’re ready. Toni is unique, one could argue she’s practically a ‘species of one’. They tested some vaccines on her blood taken in utero. The samples had a massive reaction. I don’t know the full details, I’m not a hematologist. If you want to speak to the doctors, I would be more than happy to call them later and let them talk to you, but right now… I’m begging you… do… not… TOUCH…”

Scott took a deep breath and turned to Daisy

“What did our recurring unwanted house guest want this time?”

“Another interview… I told her no.”

Scott moaned and rolled his eyes “You’d think she’d get the memo…” Scott removed Toni from the stroller and the three sat down on the blanket.

“Think about all the stuff we already do on a regular basis…” He continued “They want to add public relations and recruitment to your list. I mean, getting back up to reasonable strength is important… but I just don’t trust these DoD people…

Mrs. May was not paying any attention to what they were saying and was simply ogling Toni.

“Oh, this is so adorable, let me get a photo.” She said as she pulled her phone out of her purse.

“Smile!”

The two acquiesced, holding Toni up between them and smiling for the camera.

“PERFECT!” She yelled “Oh, I need to send this to my neighbors…”

“827,” Scott muttered into the 5001 after she’d turned her back “can you get her, I don’t know, Broadway tickets or something.”

“ _None of the major theaters will be reopening until next week_.” The AI told him.

“I don’t care, just find something.” Daisy muttered, having yanked Scott’s wrist closer “I need her out of my hair. I need peace I quiet. I need to sleep!”

_“I have something_.”

“What?”

“ _Fallon. Tonight_.”

“Do it.”

“ _The ticket will be waiting for you when you get back_.”

“You are a lifesaver…” She said.

They sat in the park for about two hours before the crowding began to make Daisy uncomfortable. They quickly packed up and walked back up to their apartment.

“Did you replace the milk?” Mrs. May asked.

“The deli’s been on shorter hours the last few weeks…” Daisy said before Mrs. May looked at her “I’m going now…”

“Well, we were able to snag you something…” Scott said, yanking the page out of the printer and handing it to her “a ticket to the first studio recording since the virus of ‘ _The Tonight Show’_. They record the show earlier in the day, so if you’re interested, you should really get going as soon as possible if you want a good seat.”

“Oh my GOD? Really? I get to see Colbart!!” She yelled as she ran out the room.

“Did she just confuse channel 2 and channel 4 _AND_ say the wrong guy’s name wrong?” Daisy asked.

“Let’s just hope she can read the ticket... and the directions… With our luck, she’ll wind up on the train to Poughkeepsie or something…”

“Your really don’t think…” She began to say before she looked at his expression “Let’s me guess… Nana Abby…”

“Yeah… Every heard of Montauk…?”


	4. Chapter 4

The two were passed out on the couch when they heard the door begin to open again. They jumped up in a panic, scaring the crap out of Skye and Jas, but making the twins laugh.

“So, how’s ‘Grandma” Skye said with a chuckle as she put the bags with the dinner they’d brought on the table

“Don’t get me started.” Daisy said as she got up and checked on Toni.

“I’m surprised she latched onto just you.” Skye continued “Or are the twins too old for her? Or is it because…”

“It’s because she only found out about them yesterday…” Jas said as she sat down and started unpacking. “May already called to warn me not to pick up the phone.”

Sprout wandered over to where Toni had been placed by Daisy.

“Hello baby.” Sprout said, poking Toni. “Let’s play!”

She continued poking Toni until Scott came over and picked her up

“Uncle Scott, baby won’t play with me.” Sprout said, trying to ask why not.

“Baby Toni is small.” Scott said “She’ll be ready to play with you one day, but not now.”

“Scotty plays with me.”

“Scotty and you are twins. Toni doesn’t have a brother like you do or a sister like your Mommy and Mummy have.”

“No bruder or sistar?” The little girl asked.

“I don’t have any.” He told her. “It was only me.”

“You had no one to play with?”

“Well… when I was little, kids did still play outside with other kids…” He said as he brought Sprout back over to the table.

“That’s funny, I though you’d all be on your phones texting each other…” Jas said with sarcastic tone.

“jokes on you.” Daisy said, “That wasn’t a thing yet when we were kids.”

“wait… Really?” Jas asked, defeated, as Scott got up to stop Scotty from poking Toni as well.

Later that night…

A loud ringing shook Daisy awake. She groaned as she opened her eyes. She looked over at her phone. Screen still dark. Someone wasn’t trying to call her.

The sound rang again. Daisy realized it was the doorbell.

Daisy pulled herself out of bed and walked towards it. She stopped, her half awake mind reminding her to see if she was dressed and looked in the mirror. Tank top and shorts… She started back towards the door, baseball bat in hand and yanked it open.

“Brooklyn is not doing you well…” Lt. Billings said as she let herself in, noticing the bags under Daisy’s eyes and the Louisville Slugger in her hand. “You’ve gone native.”

She put a box of coffee on the counter and sized Daisy up.

“You haven’t been sleeping.”

“New baby and new family who can’t take a hint… speaking of not taking hints,” Daisy said as she pointed the business end of the bat at her new guest “what do you want at God fuck o’clock in the morning?”

“You’ve got an interview with the Today show? Did you forget about that?”

“Oh, I didn’t forget, I told you to cancel it.”

“That decision was overridden by the upper… Riley, why don’t you have pants on?”

“I don’t know.” Scott told her, semi-conscious “Why the fuck are you in my kitchen at 3:30 in the morning?”

“Just put something on before the camera crew gets here.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah… No.” Daisy added. “We have a week-old infant sleeping in the other room. I don’t want a million strangers in my home right now.”

“Daisy, this is an order from the DoD, from Secretary Sherman. Do you want me to go back and tell him you disobeyed it?”

“Billings… She’s on medical leave by order of her doctor.” Scott said, “And you will NOT speak to her that way in front of me.”

“Riley, shut up and get out of here.” Billings snapped at him

“HEY!” Daisy snapped back “You don’t talk to _HIM_ like that in front of _me_.”

“...Could you just please put something on over your boxers?”

“Ok…” Scott said, holding up his wrist.

“Scott… It’s not worth it… just… go back to sleep.”

“Fine…” he said as he grabbed a mug.

“That’s not for you.”

“The two of you are going to finish a ‘Box o’ Joe’ by yourselves?” He asked.

“You know," Daisy said, "you are disturbing him as much as you are me, so he can have what he wants…”

Scott took his coffee and went back inside to check on Toni.

“And stay in there.” Billings said.

Billings began to prep Daisy for the interview as people came and went. Makeup and hair done, fresh dress clothes brought in. The entire time Daisy sat there like a bump on a log, just wishing it could be over with.

At around five AM, the door to the apartment flew open.

“Oh that was such a wonderful…” Mrs. May asked as she looked around the room.

“Ma’am, you have to leave, please.” Billings said.

“Who is this and why is she in here?” Mrs. May asked.

“I could ask the same question.” Billings said

“Um, Lt. Billings, this is Lian May, Deputy Director May’s mother and my new grandmother.” Daisy said before taking a deep breath “Grandma’… this is Lt. Emily Billings, she’s sort of my personal liaison…”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you…” Billings said.

“Why is she here?” Mrs. May asked Daisy again.

“I apparently still have to do TV interviews…”

A thud and a crash echoed from the hall. A group of burly men began carrying in equipment.

“What is all this?” Mrs. May asked, flustered.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’ Billings said to the older woman.

“HEY… woah… line crossed.” Daisy said “You seriously don't get it? You don’t tell anyone in this house, MY house, what to do. She wants to be here; she can be here.”

At roughly the same moment, Scott came out of the bedroom with Toni in his arms.

“Riley, I thought I told you to stay inside.”

“This one wants her breakfast.” He said, holding Toni up towards her.

“Go back inside, the baby can wait.”

“Do not talk to him like that!” Mrs. May yelled. “If she’s hungry, she should be fed. She needs to grow up big and strong.”

“Ma’am, if you don’t leave right now, I will kick you out myself.”

“HEY!” Daisy yelled “That’s it! OUT! Everyone OUT! NOW!”

“Agent Johnson…” Billings began to say.

“EVERYONE OUT OR I’M CALLING THE COPS!” Daisy screamed as she marched into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Everyone in the room stood still for a moment.

“You heard the lady… everyone out.” Scott said.


	5. Chapter 5

Daisy just laid on the bed with her eyes closed. She was mad at herself more than anything. She’d never done anything like that before. They say a lot of the things she’d gone few in the past few months, like getting married and having a child, can really change you… but she never though it would be this serious. Was she going to snap at every little thing from then on? Or was this just the fifty-car pileup of stress she was dealing with.

After a little while she heard a gentile knocking.

“Daisy… Honey… you want to open the door?” Scott asked, “Everyone’s gone now.”

“Go away Scott.” She said, “I want to be left alone.”

“… Okay…” She could tell by his tone he didn’t want to, but he knew better than anyone else what she was capable of and was very willing to give her breathing room “Tell you what, I’ll take Toni, head over by my folks for a while. You blow off some steam.”

“Fine… Just…” She began to say “Forget it, just go before I explode again.”

“Just don’t break anything…”

“Yeah, sure, more worried about your stupid Megazord collection…” She said, looking at the shelf with the little plastic robots sitting there

“I was referring to you breaking yourself… The toys I can replace. You I can’t.”

She heard the apartment door close. She laid there a few minutes, starring at the cracks on the ceiling for a little while more before getting up walking over to a punching bag Scott had gotten for her for Christmas, but she hadn’t gotten to use due to her pregnancy. It was the kind that hung from the ceiling on chains. She batted it back and forth for a second like a cat playing with a toy. She turned again and looked in the mirror.

“What am a doing with myself?” she wondered aloud.

She tapped up her hands and began punching the bag.

She felt weak. Several months of limited activity had left her loosing some muscle tone. Nothing she couldn’t fix with going back to her old workout regimen. She began to punch harder and harder. The stress was starting to boil to the surface. Every negative thought she’d had recently flushed to the surface.

Being abandoned. Being left alone for days on end when the others got caught up in work. Billings shoving herself into her life… and then there was Mrs. May.

She eventually swung hard enough that in the heat of the moment, her powers activated. The small blast sent bag swinging out hard and in a moment of carelessness, she’d followed through too hard on the punch, causing her to spin in place. The bag swung back and hit her in the back hard, causing her to fall forwards and slam her head on the desk.

Everything went black

Slowly her vision returned to her. She felt her head. Felt like a serious lump, but no bleeding.

Daisy shook her head and sat up. She looked towards the windows and it was dark outside.

“Oh, he is so dead…” Daisy muttered, thinking Scott hadn’t checked on her and left her lying on the floor all day. She rolled over and forced herself to stand.

“Don’t be too quick the condemn him.” A voice said from behind “Being dead isn’t all that fun…”

Daisy turned to look where the voice came from.

Phil Coulson was sitting across from her on the bed.

“You know you can’t keep doing this to yourself…” He said

Daisy was in shock for a moment before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“You’re not real. This is all a just a dream and I’m probably still passed out on the floor.” She said.

She opened her eyes and he was still sitting there.

“Damn it…”

“Relax Skye…” he said, patting on the bed next to him.

“I’m Daisy!”

“Are you?”

“You must be inside my head.” She said “You know I stopped doing that…”

“… When Skye arrived…” He said.

“No… When… Okay… I did still call myself that in my head on occasions…”

“I know.”

“So you are just a figment of my imagination…”

“Does it make a difference if I’m really Phil Coulson or just your subconscious?”

“Yeah… you… if you’re not him, then you’re not the person I want to talk to.”

She said on the bed and looked across the room at the mirror again. Her hair was no longer blond with purple she’d be wearing. Hell, her clothes were that of her days living in her van.

“Do you really miss those days?”

“No.”

“You know you can’t lie to me.”

“Ugh… A little… okay a lot. Yeah it sucked but I didn’t feel like I had the world on my shoulders.”

“And who’s fault is that feel that way?”

“At the end of the day…” she was about to say “Yours” to him, but it dawned on her what her real problem was. “It’s mine. You… He… Everyone says I have leadership potential and I… I want to live up to what he saw in me… I just don’t know how.”

She got up and started pacing back and forth across the room.

“That’s the not what you’re really upset about…” He said, looking in the direction of Toni’s crib.

Daisy walked over to the empty bed and began to cry gently.

“I know it’s just… I can’t lose this… I can’t… I don’t want to…” she said, thinking of her daughter. “Every time I’ve found one TEENY TINY BIT of happiness, it all gets dragged out from under me.”

“The families that wanted to adopt you… Rose… Miles… Grant… Lincoln… Robbie… Deke…”

“I really wasn’t into Robbie and as for Deke…”

He just stared at her.

“Okay, I liked you _way_ better when you couldn’t read my mind…” She said, “what are you going to do next, give me a hard time for…” she trailed off, not wanting to talk about it.

“No… You do that well enough on your own…” He said “… being jealous of Skye.”

Daisy bit her lower lip.

“She had everything you wanted when she was younger. Hell, she graduated from high school, you didn’t… which is another thing that bothers you. The fact one day you’ll need a GED.”

“Are you here to repeat stuff I’m well aware of or what?”

“I’m here to help you. Here to be the voice you keep saying you want to hear.”

“Yeah, will, I don’t want it hear it if you’re not him.” She said. “There’s nothing behind those words. No feeling, just noise. You’re just my memories of him. You’re my imagination trying to tell me what he would say…”

“That’s what you really miss about him” he said as she came back and sat down again. “How he made you feel…”

“That I was wanted… Loved. The thing that was always missing in my life.”

“But you have that. And not just with Scott. So why Coulson?”

“He… just… got me in a way I don’t think anyone else ever has…”

“And you were jealous of that one other you who his counterpart adopted…”

She fidgeted in her spot as she remembered that doppelganger.

“Let it out.” He said.

“I… When I was growing up… All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed about was finding out who I really was. Then I found out… and found a purpose in the process… but… I just… I don’t know where to go from here… and I am scared. I’m bored. I’ve become a couch potato. Coulson became what pushed me to better myself and with him gone, and everyone slowly going their separate ways even if they won’t admit it… I don’t feel like I can rely on that… goof ball of a husband of mine to do the same. He can be such a man child.”

“But you still love him?”

“Of course. Maybe that’s why. He’s not so serious all the time.”

“You have to be that for yourself. You were strong and independent long before he met you? What happened?”

“Everything at once…” Daisy said. “I just…”

“Wait…” Coulson said.

“What?”

“Someone’s coming.”

“Where?”

“They’re trying to wake you up…”

“Will I ever see you again? Like this?”

“Who knows…” was all he said.

The world went black again.


	6. Chapter 6

Daisy’s eyes began to open. A shape began to appear, which slowly solidified into a head, then a face.

“Scott?” Daisy asked. The face became clearer and clearer until she saw it was Mrs. May.

“don’t move.” She said

“I’m fine.” Daisy said trying to sit up.

“No!” Mrs. May yelled, pushing her back down. “You’re hurt, you shouldn’t move. You might make it worse. Bump like that is at least a concussion. I’ve already called 911.”

“Alright… alright…” Daisy said. She put her hand to her head and felt blood. The hit had actually cut her.

Daisy began to ask how long she was out when Scott ran back in the room.

“Mrs. May, I really don’t… Oh shit.” Scott said before jumping to her side.

“You Okay, what happened?” He asked in a panic voice.

“I hit my head. Where’s Toni?”

“Out in the kitchen.”

“You didn’t get far?”

“I barely got out the door before I found her sneaking back in.”

“I heard a bang and a thud and came in to find you on the floor.” Mrs. May added.

“How long was I out?”

“only a few seconds? Why?”

“Nevermind.” She said.

“Just take it easy.” He said. “I need to tell my folks I’m not coming.”

He got up to call them, while Mrs. May grabbed a pillow.

“Lean forward, let me get this under you. Get you comfortable.”

“Thanks.” Daisy said.

“Shush… don’t worry.”

A few minutes later, the paramedics arrived and took Daisy to the hospital. Mrs. May stayed behind with Toni while Scott rode with Daisy in the ambulance. He had his car following them remotely, creeping the EMS crew out the entire ride.

“Well, other than a mild concussion and that cut, you’re fine.” The ER doctor told her “You can go home, just make sure you stay off your feet for a few days.”

“Thank freaking God, I didn’t want to be back in a hospital bed this soon.” She said. The doctor looked a little concerned before Daisy added “Oh, I didn’t have the virus, I just had a baby last week.”

“Second time I’m doing this this week, this time minus one passenger.” Scott said as he rolled her out to his car in a wheelchair and helped her get settled in her seat.

“Something bugging you?” Scott asked as he sat down and started driving.

“Yeah… I had a dream when I hit my head and…” She began to say “Look… there was a void in my life with Coulson gone. I felt like I needed someone to push me in the right direction. I kind of wanted that to be you, but now I realize you can’t exactly do exactly what I needed, and I should be able to do that for myself. There is so much going on, it felt like I was on overload. Toni, You, Skye, work, this fucking Virus, my future with SHIELD, our future together…”

“Daisy… calm down before you have a panic attack or something, I don’t want to turn around.”

“I saw him… Coulson… in my dream. I vented to him about everything that’s bugging me because I don’t want to drag you down or the others with my problems. My insecurities. My faults.”

“You’re still beating around the bush…” he said “just tell me.”

“… alright… if I want to do anything with myself at SHIELD past where I am now or elsewhere should that…”

He looked at her. “short version…?”

“I need to go back to school…”

Scott helped Daisy back up to their apartment to find May sitting with her mother. She was going to take her back to the airport.

“She is a little doll. Barely made a fuss the entire time.” Mrs. May said, looking at Toni one last time before handing her off to Daisy.

“Yeah, when you’re not pulling her out of other people’s arms.” Scott muttered.

Mrs. May said her goodbyes to the three and her daughter helped her into their ride to Kennedy.

“Mom, look, I made some calls, and I know about what happened.” May said as they sat at a red light.

“Oh…” Mrs. May looked down at her lap.

“You should have told me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, it was just a mixup. I am as fit as a fiddle… for my age group.”

“Mom, that’s a serious mistake they made. If they hadn’t corrected it, they could have treated you for a cancer you didn’t have. Do you have any idea how sick that could have made you?”

“Well, it’s made me appreciate my life. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

“There’s a difference between appreciating your life and driving Daisy and Scott crazy…”

“I know… I just…”

“You’re seeing the green-eyed monster every time your friends shared the baby photos…” May said “It’s a natural response, nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Have I gotten that obvious in my old age?”

“No… I’ve just gotten better at this in mine.” May said with a laugh as the light turned green.

“So, you saw Coulson in your dream? Is that like a normal thing for you.” Scott asked as he lay on their bed looking up, with Daisy on her said and Toni between them.

“No. Not like this. I actually knew I was dreaming.” She said. “It was weird. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Scott said, looking at the safe sitting next to the desk, knowing what was inside it might be responsible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... one would think with all these weeks of being ordered to stay home, I would have loads of time to work on this... just my luck, I am in that wonderful grey area that's called "being essential" without being a worker, being the primary caregiver to my sick grandfather.


End file.
